Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pallets, and in particular to a reusable pallet suitable for use in pallet pooling arrangements.
Description of the Related Art
Pallets are flat transport structures that support materials and/or goods while being lifted or otherwise manipulated by material handling equipment, such as a forklift, pallet jack, or front loader. Pallets generally have a planar supporting surface and feet or runners that elevate the supporting surface above the ground to protect the supported goods from coming into contact with moisture, dirt and debris. Goods can be placed on a pallet, secured with strapping or stretch wrap, and shipped. Four-way pallets allow pallet jacks and forklifts to approach the pallets from any side to move them. Pallets can be made of a variety of materials, including wood, plastic and metal.
Pallet pooling is the shared use of standard pallets among multiple customers. Pallet pooling has become common to allow pallet users to outsource the expense, labor and skills required to deal with a high volume of pallets and focus on their core business. In pallet pooling arrangements, a pallet management company provides pallet users or shippers with reuseable pallets at one end of a supply chain (e.g., at the user's warehouse). The reuseable pallets are then retrieved by the pallet management company at the other end of the supply chain (e.g., at retail store locations). The pallets are then inspected, cleaned and reconditioned as needed, and then sent back into the supply chain for use by the same user or other users. In larger organizations, the empty pallets are transported by semi-loads to and from various locations in the supply chain. A standard 53′×102″×9′ dry van trailer will hold approximately 540 conventional block pallets.
There is a need for an improved pallet that can be nested when stacked in a semi-load of empty pallets, while still meeting or exceeding all of the functional requirements of a standard block pallet.